[Propertalk] Proper 17 c part 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Apparently the sermon fell into Propertalk's black hole, where it
usually sits for ever! I've split it.
Part 1

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST

	JEREMIAH 2:4-13 PROPER 17 c

	HEBREWS 13:1-8, 15-16 28th AUGUST, 2016

	LUKE 14:1, 7-14 PSALM 81:1, 10-16

	 One hopes that one matures with the passing of time – or at least
learns a few manners.

	 All I had to do was to hear the opening of the Gospel episode this
morning and I was transported back to University, my first year, on a
Sunday morning, sitting in the choir gallery at the back of the
University Chapel, from where I had a view of almost the entire
congregation below.

	 As I said, I hope that one matures. And maybe confession is good for
the soul.

	 Before your mind goes racing away, no, I didn’t throw or drop
anything. No one was harmed that Sunday – physically anyway.

	 Like most University Chapels, St. Salvator’s Chapel’s front
section of pews, the ones closest to the Communion Table, the pulpit
and the officiant’s prayer desk, the front pews were reserved for
University faculty and visiting dignitaries, and sometimes there were
a few extra dignitaries who needed places just outside that area.

	 On that fateful Sunday, one of the students, one with whom I and a
couple of close friends were acquainted, walked down the length of the
aisle and seated himself at the front end of the second section of
pews. Technically, it could have been acceptable for him to sit there
on any given Sunday. But not that day.

	 I can’t remember who the preacher was – we had a distinguished
guest preacher just about every week, and that attracted interest
beyond the University. It’s funny that I can’t remember that, but
I can remember this. The person in charge of the orderly proceedings
of Sunday worship led a guest down the aisle, stood in front of our
acquaintance, and told him he had to leave. The guest had more
standing that he. By this time, of course, the “good” seats were
all full, and so the displaced student had to find some obscure
corner. I’m sure the aisle seemed twice as long going towards the
back of the Chapel than it did going in, especially with every eye
upon his face, which was rapidly matching the colour of the scarlet
undergraduate gown which is worn on all formal occasions.

	 Snots that we were, my friends and I could hardly contain ourselves
to see that unfortunate fellow SO embarrassed.

	 But it didn’t stop there. Oh no! We couldn’t leave well enough
alone. A couple of days later, in the personals column of the
University newspaper, there was a cryptic note: “The name of the
student, Luke 14:9.”

	 Now I understand what Jesus was saying. He was body-slamming all
those who were riding on the backs of the vast majority of the
population, making sure that everyone saw how great they were, how
they deserved every courtesy, their names in the programmes and other
publications of the day. These were they who felt that they deserved
the best seats at the dinner table. No doubt, they elbowed their way
past everyone else to make sure that they got to the Altar rail before
anyone else. The problem was, they thought that no one could possibly
come before them in renown, that everyone in town would be honored to
have them at their dinner party, and that the whole gathering would be
hanging on their every word, waiting for yet another bon mot.

	 Maybe they WERE highly intelligent. Maybe they DID hold high office
in town. Maybe everybody knew who they were and that they’d just
endowed the new library, and were thinking about getting their name on
a few more buildings around town.

	 But back to St. Andrews and to me and my friends. That student MAY
have been more than a bit crass in anticipating getting a seat so far
up front. But what do you feel about the three of us for smirking, for
being so delighted at the embarrassment of another? And, more to the
point, what about that ridiculously childish act of posting one of the
verses from this morning’s Gospel, one that talked about misplaced
feelings of superiority? Didn’t we equal, if not surpass, that
student in our behaviour? Weren’t we smug little twits? After all,
the three of us knew where to go in the Bible to find a delicious
proof-text to show the acquaintance in a poor light. Not only was he
embarrassed in the sight of the other worshippers, we were grinding
him into the dirt when he may well have been crying out for comfort,
for compassion, for healing, at the very least, for some sort of help
to see how his priorities should be ordered.

	 So was Jesus doing the same thing? He saw folk at that banquet,
elbowing their way in, trying to get noticed, hoping to garner all
sorts of compliments for their sartorial elegance and their
silver-tongued repartee.

	 What Jesus focused on, though, was what He seemed to work His way
around to so many times. He was talking about ensuring that everyone
will be able to experience the joy of God.

	 So often, those who cannot afford the price of a ticket to the
banquet, or clothes that don’t look a bit distressed, or many other
little things; so often, there were, and there are, so many who are
talked down to, or are ignored, or are made to feel so unwelcome that
they give up.

	 I’m not saying that it’s entirely the fault of those who make
assumptions about their high social standing. I’m not saying that
it’s entirely because some people have a misplaced feeling of
inferiority either. Somehow, there has to be a balance, a
determination on the part of everyone to make sure that the spark of
God’s image isn’t extinguished because of the attitudes and
behaviour of others. What enraged Jesus was the way that some elbowed
others aside. They may have done it deliberately, or they may have
become so accustomed to acting that way that they no longer recognised
what they were doing to others. It may simply have been absent from
their manner of thinking to turn to another and to ensure that that
person was not left out, not left behind, especially in what can be
the mad rush of self-aggrandisement.


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